Story from 'Folktales of the Irish Countryside' by Kevin Danaher. The way the tales are recounted and the words used are all the way people spoke. My kids woulnd't talk like this today, but I know I do use some of the expressions and it's easy to see what is meant by Irish-English, that the Irish have their way of saying things. Also, the way of life back then comes out in these folk tales, and it was no much different from one county to the next, so even though what's said here is particular to Kerry, it's also relevant to Laois and everywhere else Jane http://www.laoisgenealogy.com http://www.from-ireland.net Stories from Tom Moran 2. The Spinning Woman It was all spinning and weaving long ago to make every kind of clothes and every kind of cloth that would be wanted for a house. Shirts and sheets and things like that - they used to make them out of linen, and the clothes that the men and women had, it was out of wool they were made. And there were poor women and the way of living that they had was spinning the flax or the wool, and the people would bring them the carded flax and the carded wool so that they could spin the thread. And the most of them were very good, and they had plenty to do. When they had the thread spun and rolled up in big balls, they would weigh it, and it was according to the weight that they were paid, and according as the thread was coarse or fine. Of course, there was a lot more spinning in a pound of fine thread than there would be in a pound of coarse thread. Well, there was a little widow-woman living in a little one roomed house over Binn a' Ghleanna, and that was her way of living. And she was a great hand to spin any kind of thread and she got plenty to do. Boasting they used to be, that the thread for a new suit was spun by her. And there was another thing that she was famous for in all the seven parishes around, and that was for helping women in labour. It was well known that there was no fear that anything would happen the woman or the infant that she would attend. It happened one night, that she was spinning away, and she alone i her little house. And, the knock came to the door, and it was a woman she never saw before, and a call to come help a woman in childbirth. And, she did not care much for going, and all the wool to be spun, and it belonging to a neighbouring farmer's wife that was a good customer. But the woman at the door begged her to come on. "and I'm telling you that you won't be the worse for it," says she. So off she went. What surprised her was that there wasn't any sort of car or conveyance outside the door for her, for it was always the way that a trap or/& a side car, or at least a common car was to be sent for the midwife. But this night, there was no car. And what surprised her more, was that the woman brought her across the fields and not on the road at all. And it seemed to her that there were paths across the fields where she never before saw a path, and gaps and steps and ditches where she was sure they never were before, and in no time at all where were they but down at the fort over Jack Dan's place. And a door opened in the side of the fort, and the woman took her hand and brought her in. And faith! She had no time to be frightened, for there was a handsome young woman there on the bed, and she inn labour, and the widow woman only threw off her shawl and went to help her, and it wasn't long until the loveliest infant you evedr saw was born. And the woman that brought her too! k her by the hand again, and in no time at all they were back at her own little house. But, the minute she went inside the door, what did she see,m but every bit of wool spun into the finest thread, and the little woman from the fort said to her "What did I tell you? All you have to do from this out is to leave the wool that is over after your day's spinning alongside the spinning wheel, and it will all be done in the morning. But take good care that you never tell the secret to a living soul" says she. And with that. She was out the door. And a queer thing happened, for there was another woman in the same way of living, and she asked her to give her a hand. And the other woman brought her wool for the widow-woman to spin for her. And she left it along side the wheel with her own wool, and in the morning her own wool was done, but the other woman's wool was not touched.